Sport is incresingly more in love with youth. The younger someone acheives something the better story it is and the more talented they must be. So says the media anyhow. Its certainly been part of the F1 culture for the last 10 years. Alonso was the youngest champion ever. Then Hamilton came along and he was the youngest champion. Then Vettel smashed that. Kvyat is now the second youngest podium placer and Max Verstappen could be in F1 for about 5 years and still smash all these records. Its not something that is unique to F1 as all sport is now obsessed with the young but it does create an issue in F1 unlike most other sports. There has always been a limited amount of space in F1, in the current climate even more so, which means the younger a driver is succesful the longer he's going to be around in the sport. Add in the 'superstar' factor of drivers being the factor that attracts the most sponsors, and with sponsors being the only thing that keeps teams afloat in the super expensive world, it has created is an untouchable hierarchy that sits at the summit of F1.
As much as we all love F1 and enjoy watching the midfield battles we all have to accept that fact that when it comes to championships there are only 4 or 5 seats worth having in F1. There are only 5 top teams in F1, one of those is debatable (Williams) and another is in serious downfall and recovery (Mclaren). As much as we'd like to say that all these teams have a level playing field the cold reality of it is there is always a lead driver and a back up driver. Meaning there is very limited space in the sport and when drivers have longevity its almost semi impossible for anyone else to break into those teams.
We all known the current situation. Lewis Hamilton is the main attraction and is fully installed at Merc and being succesful. Rosberg is the perfect pairing as he's quick and pushes him but is never going to create too much friction. Merc are not going to rock the boat by bringing in the 'next big thing'. So thats Merc locked out. Vettel is now set up at Ferrari and has made a success of it so is currently their champion to bring them back to the front. It looks like they'll renew Kimi's contract because a) he doesn't bother Seb too much and b) hey he's a big name world champion and it looks good to the investors. The whole Vettel going to Ferrari thing did shake stuff up a little in the fact that he left another stalwart at the top without a team. Alonso chose to go to Mclaren in the hope they will come back eventually and therefore has locked out that team now. The second seat may be up for grabs but in times of trouble having a world champion and a British superstar on the team is not a bad thing to bring in a bit of backing so therefore Jenson Button is fairly set at the moment. Red Bull are an intersting one as they are the most likely way into the top if you're a driver in F1. The problem is they only promote from within. Vettel went to the top of that team and held it until he decided to leave where his position has been filled by Danny Ricciardo who is new to the big name drivers league. The problem he has is that the team aren't on top at the moment and it seems pretty obvious that the team is just sitting waiting for Max Verstappen to come into it and be there lead driver. So there is no way in there either. Williams is an odd one as personally I'm not 100% sure they are part of the top 5 teams due to the fact they defer to Merc. It is an oppotunity for drivers but its pretty much the same oppotunity as driving for Toro Rosso. Even Williams have one of the old boys proping up their sponsorship.
So if there is no way in at the front then what are your options? Well you could try the Grosjean/Hulkenberg tactic and sit in teams that are on the periphery either hoping they have a break through or a space becomes avaliable. The problem with that is with the way the media currently is the longer you kick around in the midfield the more your reputation takes a battering and you get labelled 'journeymen' because, hey, if you're not succesful straight away then you're obviously not a superstar and eventually end up in the Buemi/Vergne position where you have to make room for someone else despite not doing wrong. You could take the Palmer/Magnusen option and sit at a succesful team as a test driver - it worked for Hakkenien and Alonso back in the day after all. The problem with that is that you get forgotten about because you're not racing and become in danger of becoming Gary Parfeet.
What does all this mean? Well it means that we kind of have the beginings of a lost generation of drivers who can't get into F1 or at the very least are stuck at the back for a couple of years before having to leave. Jolyon Palmer, Robin Frinjs, Robert Wickhams, Sam Bird, all names that have been massivley succesful but can't find a way in to compeate at the top. Sadly its seems likely that Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Ocon may go the same way. Basically talent we don't get to see due to politics. Its no wonder that the likes of WEC and Formula E are becoming increasingly popular as the talent spills over to them.
What is the answer? I really don't know. But it seems quite apparent that the current 'cream of the crop' in F1 have been intrenched by their agents and aren't going anywhere anytime soon. If you're an up and coming driver in the junior categories then your only option is to sit and wait it out until they all get to old. The problem with that is that if you don't win these junior sections immediatly you're written off as 'not being that good'. Basically if you're a young driver wanting to be an F1 champion right now you better perfect cryogenic freezing for the next 5 or 6 years.
As much as we all love F1 and enjoy watching the midfield battles we all have to accept that fact that when it comes to championships there are only 4 or 5 seats worth having in F1. There are only 5 top teams in F1, one of those is debatable (Williams) and another is in serious downfall and recovery (Mclaren). As much as we'd like to say that all these teams have a level playing field the cold reality of it is there is always a lead driver and a back up driver. Meaning there is very limited space in the sport and when drivers have longevity its almost semi impossible for anyone else to break into those teams.
We all known the current situation. Lewis Hamilton is the main attraction and is fully installed at Merc and being succesful. Rosberg is the perfect pairing as he's quick and pushes him but is never going to create too much friction. Merc are not going to rock the boat by bringing in the 'next big thing'. So thats Merc locked out. Vettel is now set up at Ferrari and has made a success of it so is currently their champion to bring them back to the front. It looks like they'll renew Kimi's contract because a) he doesn't bother Seb too much and b) hey he's a big name world champion and it looks good to the investors. The whole Vettel going to Ferrari thing did shake stuff up a little in the fact that he left another stalwart at the top without a team. Alonso chose to go to Mclaren in the hope they will come back eventually and therefore has locked out that team now. The second seat may be up for grabs but in times of trouble having a world champion and a British superstar on the team is not a bad thing to bring in a bit of backing so therefore Jenson Button is fairly set at the moment. Red Bull are an intersting one as they are the most likely way into the top if you're a driver in F1. The problem is they only promote from within. Vettel went to the top of that team and held it until he decided to leave where his position has been filled by Danny Ricciardo who is new to the big name drivers league. The problem he has is that the team aren't on top at the moment and it seems pretty obvious that the team is just sitting waiting for Max Verstappen to come into it and be there lead driver. So there is no way in there either. Williams is an odd one as personally I'm not 100% sure they are part of the top 5 teams due to the fact they defer to Merc. It is an oppotunity for drivers but its pretty much the same oppotunity as driving for Toro Rosso. Even Williams have one of the old boys proping up their sponsorship.
So if there is no way in at the front then what are your options? Well you could try the Grosjean/Hulkenberg tactic and sit in teams that are on the periphery either hoping they have a break through or a space becomes avaliable. The problem with that is with the way the media currently is the longer you kick around in the midfield the more your reputation takes a battering and you get labelled 'journeymen' because, hey, if you're not succesful straight away then you're obviously not a superstar and eventually end up in the Buemi/Vergne position where you have to make room for someone else despite not doing wrong. You could take the Palmer/Magnusen option and sit at a succesful team as a test driver - it worked for Hakkenien and Alonso back in the day after all. The problem with that is that you get forgotten about because you're not racing and become in danger of becoming Gary Parfeet.
What does all this mean? Well it means that we kind of have the beginings of a lost generation of drivers who can't get into F1 or at the very least are stuck at the back for a couple of years before having to leave. Jolyon Palmer, Robin Frinjs, Robert Wickhams, Sam Bird, all names that have been massivley succesful but can't find a way in to compeate at the top. Sadly its seems likely that Stoffel Vandoorne and Esteban Ocon may go the same way. Basically talent we don't get to see due to politics. Its no wonder that the likes of WEC and Formula E are becoming increasingly popular as the talent spills over to them.
What is the answer? I really don't know. But it seems quite apparent that the current 'cream of the crop' in F1 have been intrenched by their agents and aren't going anywhere anytime soon. If you're an up and coming driver in the junior categories then your only option is to sit and wait it out until they all get to old. The problem with that is that if you don't win these junior sections immediatly you're written off as 'not being that good'. Basically if you're a young driver wanting to be an F1 champion right now you better perfect cryogenic freezing for the next 5 or 6 years.
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